Barclay determined to put on a show in Corby

The Corby cruiserweight will make a quick return to the ring on Friday, November 3 after he lost out in his bid to win the vacant IBF European title last week.

Barclay stepped up to battle Stephen Simmons at two weeks notice and went the distance in his first-ever 12-round fight, and his first since recovering from having surgery on a torn bicep, with Simmons picking up the victory by a unanimous points decision.

The fight was screened live on BoxNation and in front of a raucous crowd for Simmons at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in his home city of Edinburgh.

Despite the loss, the second of his professional career, Barclay was pleased with his own performance and is now looking forward to giving his own fans what they want to see at the Rockingham Forest Hotel early next month.

That fight, which is what Barclay had been originally training for, has been reduced from a 10-round contest to six.

And the cruiserweight said: “I was pleased with my performance in Edinburgh, especially when you consider I took the fight with just two-and-a-half weeks to prepare.

“I effectively had a four-week training camp for it and it was tough in there.

“But I was really pleased to go the distance. Before that, I’d only had two 10-round contests and one went to seven and the other was when I was stopped after two due to a cut.

“I took the fight with no pressure. I’d already had a loss and if I hadn’t taken it, I would have been waiting a long time before getting my name into that sort of arena.

“It was a chance to get my name back out there and I think I did that.

“We are continuing as scheduled for November in Corby and it will be six rounds instead of 10 now but it should be a great night.

“It’s always special in front of the fans here and I am really looking forward to it.

“And I am really determined to put on a good performance.”

The undercard for the fight night in Corby is also set to include Corby’s Darren Murray and Kettering’s Dom Specchio.